If you’re a golfer looking to hit the ball longer and straighter … geez, scrap that.
Every golfer is looking for ways to hit the ball longer and straighter and if you’re someone who enjoys time on the links, boy do we have good news for you.
Our very own golf pro, Kevin Black of Seven Hills Golf and Country Club, will be a featured columnist over the course of the coming months and he has just one goal in mind: to help North Island golfers improve their games.
The 31-year-old, who’s entering his second season on the local course, comes with a wealth of information and experience.
He grew up in the Alberta hinterlands of Edmonton and played on the Canadian Tour — finishing in the top 20 — the Nationwide Tour and various places around the U.S. and has won more than 20 other professional events.
He received his PGA of Canada Class A professional card in 2001 and worked as an assistant pro at three Edmonton courses before moving to the North Island to take over Seven Hills.
And oh yeah, his handicap is 1.
He has some advice as we head into the season.
“The first thing I advise after a winter of not playing is definitely stretch, ideally a little bit each day,” said Black.
“It’s not easy just coming back in,” he said.
“You’re trying to swing a club at 100-mph and I know (golf) isn’t an athletic sport, but that’s a pretty powerful move and I’m sure every golfer has felt it when they haven’t played for a while and they play 18 holes, well, you feel it the next day.”
Black’s not advising anything crazy, just “basic stuff, touching your toes, going for a walk, that kind of thing,” he said.
“I’d really want to focus on the hips and the core because that’s where a lot of action is going on.”
Black advises doing a little something every day, exercises such as side stretches.
And stretching your forearms to prevent tennis elbow.
“That’s something many golfers get,” Black said.
“It’s the left elbow for a right-handed player because it’s that lead arm taking all that impact.”
Look for Black’s regular column to start next month.
In the meantime, the Gazette has double-green fees pass to give away.
Just be the first to go to the North Island Gazette’s Facebook page and answer this question: Who is the only Canadian — and one of only two lefties —to win the Masters?
The Seven Hills Golf and Country Club annual general meeting: Sunday, April 22. Twenty-five bucks covers golf at 11 a.m., lunch and meeting to follow. A free one-year membership will be drawn at the end of the confab. Call 250-949-9818 to register.
